Secrets, secrets, and more secrets
by Ponchygirl
Summary: Larissa Poncherello is going about a normal day, when she meets a guy named Stripes. There's something strange about him, that spikes her curiosity, and then she finds out some shocking news, but she's not the only one in her family to learn some shocking news.
1. Stripes

Larissa sat on the couch texting her best friend Hilary. Sasha and Tessa were both in college, and Chive was in her room talking to Doug Justin, her boyfriend. She was talking to him on the phone, and they had been talking for three hours now. Larissa was slightly jealous, not only did Chive have a boyfriend, she had other super cute guys that liked her too. Of Course she didn't like them she only like Doug, and had only liked Doug for years. They had been dating since 9th grade, and Chive was now a senior. Larissa was really bored, and then Hilary asked if she wanted to meet her at the park. She got excited.

"Hey, mom... can I go to the park and hang out with Hilary?" She asked.

"Yeah, sure. Be home by six thirty though," Jazzie replied.

"Ok, thanks, mom," Larissa said then hugged Jazzie good bye.

 _Meanwhile…_

Larissa sat on the bench at the park next to Hilary.

"Rissa, look at that guy over there. He's so cute," Hilary said.

"Yeah he is, but he looks like he's Tessa's age," Larissa said sadly. Knowing that meant she shouldn't try to date him.

"Yeah," Hilary said sadly.

"But that doesn't mean we can't at least say hi." Larissa said getting excited again. They both hopped up off the bench and rushed over.

"Hi, I'm Larissa Poncherello."

"And I'm Hilary Hamilton." The guy smiled at them.

"Hi, I'm Pepper Stripes. People just call me Stripes. I don't know my last name."

"Pepper Stripes? That sounds so cute," Hilary said.

"Thanks, I still wish I knew why my parents named me that," Stripes replied.

"Why don't you ask them?" Hilary suggested.

"I can't... I don't know who they are," Stripes replied sadly. Hilary noticed that Larissa had been silent ever since Stripes turned around. Hilary was gonna ask her why, but then she realized why. Stripes had a strange resemblance to Ponch. He looked so much like him, and he even had big brown eyes like him. Hilary smiled at Stripes,

"Well it's nice to meet you," she said.

"It's nice to meet you girls too. Will I ever see you again? I don't have many friends... I stay here around the park a lot now days," he said.

"Wow really? We do too," Hilary replied.

"Cool, so I'll see you girls around. And maybe next time I can talk to Larissa too," he said smiling at her.

"Huh,… Oh yeah, see ya later," Larissa said then felt slightly dumb, so she walked away.

"Is she ok?" Stripes asked.

"She's fine, she is just really shy," Hilary said knowing that was not the reason at all for Larissa being so quiet.

 _To Be Continued_


	2. Introducing Andrea to Stripes

"Larissa, were you thinking what I was thinking back there?" Hilary asked.

"Probably, but there is no possible way we could be related to Stripes! I would've known about him by now. So why does he look so much like dad?"

"I don't know...I know Erik, your dad's other best friend looks exactly like your dad. Maybe Stripes is related to Erik," Hilary suggested.

"Maybe, but that look he had in his eyes... only my dad ever gets that look, not even Erik's eyes are like that. And if he's related to Erik, I would've met him by now too."

"Ok, maybe Chive knows something about it," Hilary suggested.

"Maybe, but I wouldn't wanna bother her. She's talking to Doug," Larissa replied.

"Ok, so what do we do?"

"Well, the best thing we can do is try to keep this a secret. I don't want my parents to find out I met some guy at the park and became friends with him, they'd freak. So if we just continue to see him there, then when we have a pretty good relationship...we can tell my parents about it," Larissa said.

"Can we tell anyone?"

"Well, my sisters can know. I'm almost positive Andrea would wanna know," Larissa said. Andrea was their other friend.

"Ok, well, I'll see ya later. My mom wanted me home by five," Hilary said.

"Ok, I'm gonna text my mom and let her know I'm going over to Andrea's house," Larissa said.

 _Meanwhile…._

"Are you serious!? If he's like Tessa's age, and he looks like your dad that guy must be adorable. Not to sound weird or anything, but if your dad was younger and not married I'd have a major crush on him," Andrea said. Larissa smiled, she'd heard that from lots of people. "Anyway, back to what we were discussing. I wanna go to the park with you right now and meet him," Andrea said. Larissa smiled.

"Really? Because I was just wishing that I could see him again," she said.

"Ok, let's go."

 _Meanwhile…_

They arrived at the park, and saw Stripes sitting over on the bench staring at the ground.

"Hi, Stripes," Larissa said. He looked up and smiled.

"Hi, Larissa, your back so fast. I'm glad you're here. I was getting lonely," he said with a smile, the smile reminded her of Tessa's smile. She smiled back.

"Oh, this is Andrea Parker, she's my other best friend," Larissa said.

"Hi, Andrea, I'm Pepper Stripes. You can just call me Stripes," Stripes said.

"Hi, Stripes, it's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too," Stripes replied.

"So where are you from?" Andrea asked.

"Oh ya know... all over the place. Basically where ever I wanna be," Stripes replied.

"You're homeless?" Andrea asked in shock, she never would've guessed.

"Well not exactly. I mean there is this one guy that lets me stay at his house while he's gone, of which like almost every night."

"Oh that's good, do you get paid to watch his house?"

"Yeah, he gives me like 50 dollars every time he comes home in the morning."

"That's nice, its like getting paid to live somewhere," Larissa said.

"So what's you last name?" Andrea asked, already knowing the answer, but hoping maybe she could get a little bit out of him about why he doesn't know.

"I have no clue. Ya see, when I was about a few months old someone took me away from my family. I have no idea who my family is, and I wish I did. I don't like those people who kidnapped me. They were really mean and abusive, and that's why I have all these scars on my arms," Stripes said then he rolled up his shirt sleeve and they saw scars on his arms. Larissa felt bad for him.

"I wish I knew why my parents named my Pepper Stripes. I love my name, and I want to thank them, and also find out if there is a reason for it."

 _To Be Continued_


	3. Talking to Chive about Stripes

"I can't believe this! He doesn't know anything about his family at all," Andrea said while walking with Larissa.

"I know, it must be awful. I'd hate not knowing my parents," Larissa agreed.

"Yeah, and if that were my name I'd wanna know why," Andrea added.

"That's what Chive would say," Larissa said with a smile.

"Yeah, I know. I've heard the story before, and I agree with your dad that was a very cute name. And she is really pretty she deserves that pretty name," Andrea said.

"You agree with him on just about anything Andrea," Larissa teased. It was true, Andrea thought that Ponch was a very smart and creative guy. She loved most of his ideas. Andrea smiled, then they reached the doorstep to the Poncherello house.

"Well, I'll see ya later," Andrea said.

"Wait, don't you wanna come in for a minute?"

"I guess if you want me to," Andrea said.

"I do," Larissa said grabbing Andrea's hand and dragging her inside the house.

"Hello!" Larissa called, it was kind of dark inside, as if no one was home. Chive opened her door, she was doing her hair.

"Oh, you look amazing," Andrea said. Chive was wearing a purple dress that went just a little above her knees, and had a cute bow in the back.

"Thanks, I'm still getting ready."

"Ready for what?" Larissa asked.

"I'm going out with Doug tonight," Chive replied with a smile.

"Oh cool, where's mom?" Larissa asked.

"She went somewhere with dad. She told me to tell you they'd be back later...and you can eat whenever you're ready," Chive replied.

"Ok, thanks," Larissa said.

"Oh, Larissa, can I borrow some shoes?" Chive asked.

"Yeah sure," Larissa said smiling. Chive was always dressing up like this, and never had the right shoes. Larissa thought it was hilarious, Chive smiled, knowing exactly what her sister was thinking. Larissa teased her about it all the time.

"Should we tell her about Stripes?" Andrea asked quietly, but loud enough that Chive heard it.

"Stripes?" Chive asked curious. Larissa quickly explained to her about Stripes. Chive was almost speechless. "Well that's a lot to take in. I don't know what to say sis," she said.

"Will you come to meet him?" Andrea asked.

"Right now?" Chive asked.

"No, Doug will be here soon, just come to the park with me tomorrow," Larissa said.

"Ok, I will," Chive agreed, then went to Larissa's room to get some shoes.

 _To Be Continued_


	4. Getraer's shocking news

Getraer sat in his office staring at a picture. Ponch walked in excitedly.

"Hi, Sarge, guess wha…Where'd you get that?" Ponch asked his voice changing from excitement to curiosity.

"What picture?" Getraer asked trying to hide it. Ponch closed the door, so no one could listen to the conversation.

"Sarge, I saw it, you can't hide it," Ponch said. Getraer stopped trying to hide it.

"I'm sorry, but you were so cute. How could I throw away one of your baby pictures?"

"Where'd you get it?" Ponch asked confused.

"If I told you, you'd never believe me."

"Try me."

"Alright, come to my house at 6:30, and I'll tell you. You can bring Jazzie if you want."

"Ok, Sarge, see you tonight."

 _Meanwhile…._

Ponch and Jazzie left to go to Getraer's house, so Chive and Larissa decided to go to the park at that time. When they got to the park, Stripes was sitting on the bench singing sweetly to a cute little puppy.

"His singing is so cute," Chive whispered. They walked over to him,

"Hi, Stripes," Larissa said.

"Larissa, how nice to see you. You must have a lot of friends every time I see you, you have a different friend."

"Oh, this is my older sister," Larissa said quickly.

"I thought you two looked alike. Hi I'm Pepper Stripes. You can call me Stripes."

"Hi, I'm Chive Parsley. You can call me Chive," Chive said.

"That's a cute name."

"Thanks, my dad came up with it. Originally all of us were gonna be named somewhat like that. But my mom didn't like names like Salt, Ginger, and Oregano, so dad just chose Chive Parsley." Stripes smiled at Chive, he thought she was really nice.

"So who was that puppy?"

"Oh, that was Daisy. She's Mrs. Johnson's dog... Mrs. Johnson is a lady that comes here once a week," Stripes replied.

"Oh, well that dog was cute... and I think she really likes you," Chive said.

 _Meanwhile…_

Ponch and Jazzie sat in the living room with Getraer and Betty. Getraer was just starting to explain the picture.

"Do you know who Leo Poncherello is?" he asked.

"No," Ponch replied.

"Ok, well have you ever noticed how your sister and your brothers don't look like you very much?"

"Yeah."

"Ok, I know this is gonna be hard to believe, but they are my kids."

"What?" Ponch asked in shock.

"I was married to Maria Mason before your dad was. Me and Maria were best friends, and got married. We had 3 kids, then one day we got into a huge fight, and ended up splitting up. Later we were friends again, but she was getting married to a guy named Leo Poncherello. A few years later she was pregnant with you. Leo got diagnosed with lung cancer a few months later and was given 6 months to live. The day after you were born was the day he died. He got to see you once before he died. I was there at the hospital the day you were born. I had to take your mom there. Once your dad died, Maria was desperate to find a husband so she could have someone to help raise her new born son. So for a few months we were married again, we got into another fight, and decided that maybe it would be best if we just were friends and nothing more. That's when she met Alfred Poncherello, Leo's twin brother. He was so much like Leo it was great. We agreed to divorce again, but it was a happier one this time. We decided to just be friends, the second time we got married just didn't seem right. We felt a little weird, and then on January twenty first she married Alfred Poncherello."

"Wait are you trying to tell me my real dad is dead, and I've had two step dad's and you're one of them?"

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying, you're smart, Poncherello." Ponch was so shocked.

"I'm sorry, Sarge, but this is way to hard to believe."

"Just ask your mom and dad."

"I can't they aren't here," Ponch said. Then Maria and Alfred came out. Ponch looked slightly freaked out. "When did you get here?"

"This morning sometime. You see Joe knew he'd be telling you this soon, so he called us. We came as soon as we could," Maria said.

"We knew you'd have to find all of this out sometime," Alfred said.

"If this is all true, then how come when you came to visit... I had to introduce you to each other?"

"Well, the day you first started working here, me and Joe decided not to tell you that news yet. So we decided to pretend not to know each other. That's why I called the day I was coming."

"Wow, how interesting," Jazzie said.

"Francis, are you ok?" Maria asked. Ponch looked at her,

"I'm fine, just fine, Ponch replied, still trying to handle all this news.

 _Meanwhile…_

"So, what are you doing for Thanksgiving next week?" Chive asked.

"No clue," Stripes said.

"You wanna come over to our house? Our family will be there. I want you to meet my older sisters, they are coming home from college to spend Thanksgiving with us," Chive said.

"Cool, I'd love to come... but shouldn't you ask you parents first?"

"Oh yeah, they should be home soon. Why don't you come with us, and we'll introduce you to them," Larissa suggested. Stripes' eyes lit up, they way Ponch's always did when he got excited.

"I'd love to meet them. The way you guys explain them makes them sound amazing," he said.

"Ok, let's go," Larissa said excitedly, she loved Stripes, she'd only know him for a few days, but he seemed just like an older brother to her, the older brother she'd never had.

 _To Be Continued_

 _Authors note: I'm sure this seemed a little weird, but it was a cool twist to the story. I hope you enjoyed it._


	5. Thanksgiving

Stripes, Larissa, and Chive all arrived at home the exact same time Ponch and Jazzie did.

"Hi mom, hi dad."

"Hi girls, who is this?" Ponch asked.

"Pepper Stripes, he doesn't know his last name."

"Pepper Stripes?" Ponch asked.

"Yeah," Stripes replied. Ponch fainted.

"Is he ok?" Stripes asked.

"It's been a long day," Jazzie replied.

"Let's go inside," Larissa suggested. Stripes carried Ponch inside, and he woke up a few minutes later. After Jazzie had just finished explaining what happened at Getraer's house. Then she smiled at Stripes,

"So, tell us about yourself Stripes."

"Well, I'm 20 years old, and my birthday is March 16th. I wanna be a cop...but I'm not sure I'm good enough. I wish I knew my family, I was taken from them when I was a few months old. I ran away from the people who kidnapped me because they were mean and abusive. Now I live in a house that belongs to a guy named Mr. Peters. He pays me 50 dollars a day to live there, I think he just pays me because he wants me to be able to live. Not because I do anything special there while he's gone. I just sleep there at night while he's at work, and then leave in the morning. I feel like I'm just saying random things and not putting anything in order…"

"Wait, did you say that you were taken from your family, when you were a few months old?" Jazzie asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, I don't know how to explain this...but we had a son named Stripes, and he was taken from us when he was a few months old. His birthday was in March 16th and he would be 20 years old right now."

"You mean, he's our brother?" Chive and Larissa asked in unison.

"Yeah, I guess I am," Stripes said smiling, he had tears in his eyes.

"All of these years, I pictured my mom being beautiful. But I never pictured her as pretty as you, and I look so much like my dad, its amazing!" Stripes said, he hugged Jazzie, and he hugged Ponch. "I love you guys. I know I've only known you a few minutes, but I already love you a lot," he said.

"We love you too Stripes, and we always have," Ponch replied.

"Oh, there is something you should know. You have a twin sister, her name is Quintessa Llewellyn Poncherello."

"That's a cute name, and I've always wanted a twin," Stripes replied.

 _Meanwhile.._

On Thursday in was thanksgiving, and Sasha came over with her boyfriend Jason, Tessa came over with her husband Glen, and Doug came over, because Chive invited him. They all were introduced to Stripes, and loved him. They were having fun and hanging out, and then Stripes turned and looked at Ponch,

"I know this is a weird time to ask, but I've been dying to find out, why did you choose the name Pepper Stripes for me? I love it, but I wanna know if there is a reason for it."

"Well, I'm glad you asked, yes actually there is a reason for each name we gave to our kids, we named you Pepper Stripes because my grandma really liked that name, and she wanted my parents to name me that, but they wouldn't do it, I promised my grandma the first child I had would be named Pepper Stripes just for her, and because I loved that name too. So when you were born 3 minutes before Tessa, you got the name," Ponch said.

"Why'd you name me Tessa?" Tessa asked.

"Well, my middle name is Quintessa, and your dad's middle name is Llewellyn, so we put both of our middle names together and came up with your name," Jazzie replied.

"And one of my best friends growing up was named Amber, so that's where Sasha's middle name came from," Ponch said.

"My favorite aunt was named Sashenka, so that's why she was named Sashenka," Jazzie added.

"I know how I got my name already, it was just a cute name you came up with," Chive said.

"Yeah, and my best friend Jaimee's middle name was Chive," Jazzie said.

"What about my name?" Larissa asked.

"Well, that was another friend of mine growing up, her name was Larissa Megan Kirby, she was killed in a car accident when she was 17, I named you after her, because she was a great person, and I wanted you to be named after a great person. Your dad wanted to name you Honey Mustard," Jazzie said. Larissa laughed,

"Dad, if it makes you feel any better, I like that name too," Larissa said.

 _Meanwhile…_

They all sat around the living room, it was time for a family tradition, Sasha was explaining it to Stripes.

"Basically, we just pass around this little stuffed turkey, and say something we are thankful for," she said summing up everything she had just said.

"Ok," Stripes replied.

"I'll go first," Tessa said.

"Ok, and I'll go last," Stripes said.

"I'm thankful for my wonderful husband Glen," Tessa said.

"I'm thankful for my beautiful wife Tessa," Glen said.

"I'm thankful that school is out," Sasha said.

"I'm thankful for Sasha and her sense of humor," Jason said.

"I'm thankful for my two best friends Hilary and Andrea," Larissa said.

"I'm thankful for Chive," Doug said.

"I'm thankful for Doug," Chive said, then kissed him on the nose, and passed the turkey to Jazzie.

"I'm thankful for Ponch," Jazzie said smiling at him.

"I'm thankful for you too Jazzie. But most of all, I'm thankful to have Stripes back," Ponch said. Stripes smiled,

"I'm thankful to have a loving family like you guys," Stripes said. They all smiled and hugged Stripes.

"Its good to have you back Stripes," Ponch said. Stripes smiled.

"It's good to be back dad," he said.

THE

END


End file.
